1895 Purchase Dilema

[Churchill]

So I have an 1895 dilemma! I like stainless steel and the idea of the pack and punch of the SS Guide Gun (not that I knew what a 'guide gun' is/was), but a friend said I should go for a longer barrel like the 1895 Classic (blued)? I am NOT a hunter (but respect the choice of those who do), but I do like the idea of being able to 'drop any large dangerous animal'! I'm not looking for a long-barrel sniper rifle (I have owned those), or even a short-range cannon, so how will these two outperform each other, in power, range, velocity, robustness, value, and all-round appeal?

Marlin 1895GS Guide Gun 45/70 Lever Action Rifle with Stainless Steel - Marlin Model 1895​

The venerable big–game–dropping performance of the 45–70 Gov’t. is now available in a compact gun that weighs only 7 lbs. It features an 18½" inch barrel and

marlin1895.com

Marlin 1895 Classic 45/70 Lever Action Rifle with Checkered Walnut Stock - Marlin Model 1895​

 

[Horsehat]

Begs the question, what are you going to do with it? The carbine would definitely be more manageable in close quarters, either would do the job on man or any beast in North America. There are rifles out there that would be more practical for specific applications. If you just want it to look at, pick the one you find most visually appealing.

 

[7pt62THOR]

Easy answer is : Get both!

One cannot have too many 45/70's!



You've inspired me. May get this one out tomorrow...

 

[poopdaddy]

go with the big loop. remember that they are not worth the crazy used price people are asking.
go with the sgbl or the gbl and add the rail. put a nice optic on it and be real happy.
the guide gun will shoot accurately to the range of the 45/70.
they are great guns and DAHLONEGA GOLD AND PAWN has them for 1500 bucks....

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Regarding the ballistic performance of a .45-70 bullet fired out of an 18.5 inch barrel rifle versus a 22 inch barrel rifle,

this guy, JBledsoe, an 8000 post experienced poster at the Marlin Owners forum posted this 10 years ago:

"I, too, was curious about velocity loss. so I gathered up some of my 45-70's and all of my friend's 45-70's and headed for the range. I got a considerable surprise.
The velocity loss was minimal to say the least. The difference between a 22 inch barrel and a 18.5 barrel was only about 25 to 40 fps..


....that's only 10 to 15 fps per inch.


And the 26 inch barrel added about the
same amount of velocity.
So what was the difference? The difference in our rifles averaged 83 fps loss of velocity from a 26 inch barrel compared to a 18.5 barrel."

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

So then, let's say that you would gain 50 ft./second by getting the classic rifle with the full length barrel compared to the Marlin guide gun.

What does an extra 50 ft./s buy you in terms of kinetic energy on target, or decreased bullet drop at longer ranges?

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

ANSWERS:

The slower bullet coming from the shorter barrel carbine will cost you


-- an additional 1.5 inches of bullet drop at 200 yards, but both cartridges will be hitting approximately 2 feet low if your Zero was for 100 yards.


-- you'll give up 25 f.p.s. of retained velocity at 200 yards. (even though the difference was 50 ft./s at the muzzle. The further away the target is the less of a difference there is in impact velocity at that range.)

-- and Kinetic Energy is the difference of 50 foot pounds on target!
(the slower bullet is just under 1000 foot pounds the faster bullet is just a little bit over 1000 ft/lbs.)

All figures come from the ballistic calculator at gundata.org based on a Remington 405 grain SoftPoint bullet.
The only variable being the initial muzzle velocity.

 

[jpm2953]

go with the shorter barrel model. Trust me. They are quicker handling, look cooler, resell faster and still pack plenty of punch.

 

[basstracker89]

Been said ^^^. Longer barrel, more velocity, energy, less recoil and better accuracy. Shorter barrel, good for close quarters, compact and light weight. You may need to shoot and or own them all to figure out what you want. You're talking about a fine tune difference to suite your needs and wants. Only you will be able to figure it out as everyone is different

 

[BEREZKA]

counterpoint